NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Pegula is back in the quarterfinals of the US Open after a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Diana Shnaider on Monday, her seventh participation in this round at a Grand Slam tournamentNow comes the difficult part: Pegula has lost 0-6 quarterfinals in important matches throughout her career.
No. 6 seed Pegula, an American whose parents The Buffalo Bills of the NFL and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, is currently in top form, winning 13 of her last 14 matches, all on hard courts, including her second consecutive title in Canada and an appearance in the final of the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
“I feel like the pressure was bigger this year because I started this tournament so well,” said 30-year-old Pegula, the oldest player still in the field. “I want to keep working on myself and hopefully show my best tennis for the later rounds this time.”
Also returning to the quarter-finals is Karolina Muchovaa 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, who was runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon this season. Muchova next plays against No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maiawho defeated 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to become the first Brazilian woman to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Maria Bueno in 1968.
Haddad Maia is a 28-year-old left-hander who was banned for ten months after failing a doping test in 2019. She was a semi-finalist at last year’s French Open but has never made it past the second round at Flushing Meadows.
Muchova made her breakthrough in 2023, reaching the final in Paris and the semifinals in New York before undergoing surgery on her right wrist in October, which put her out of action for ten months.
“That was my worst and most serious injury, I would say. But I love the sport, so I thought, ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to get healthy and try.’ And here I am today,” said Muchova, whose US Open a year ago ended in a loss to eventual champion Coco Gauff. “I’m just a really happy kid now.”
Gauff was seeded number 3 this year and was eliminated on Sunday by No. 13 Emma Navarro.
In the men’s singles, Jack Draper became the first Briton to reach the quarter-finals in New York on Monday since the recently retired Andy Murray in 2016. Draper, who was knocked out in the fourth round last year, will play in his first Grand Slam quarter-final thanks to a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win over unseeded Tomas Machac.
“Of course I miss Andy. Shout out to Andy. What an incredible career the guy had. Just an icon of the game. I miss him in the dressing rooms. I miss standing next to his smelly shoes and all his smelly clothes,” said Draper, who will face No. 10 Alex de Minaur or Jordan Thompson, two Australians scheduled to play each other on Monday. “Andy is a legend and if I can do half of his career then I’ll be a happy man.”
No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, the only former men’s singles winner still in contention, defeated Nuno Borges 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 in a stunning victory six minutes late — like all other matches taking place at that time — because of a fire alarm in the building that houses the electronic line calling system. Medvedev’s quarterfinal opponent will be No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 14 Tommy Paul.
Pegula made it to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows two years ago, but then lost to No. 1 Iga Swiatekwho won one of her five major titles. Another meeting with Swiatek could be on the cards: Pegula will next face the winner of Monday night’s match between Swiatek and No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova.
Three of Pegula’s six quarterfinal exits at Grand Slam tournaments came against a number one player – twice Swiatek and once Ash Barty.
“I just try to draw from those experiences and imagine how I felt before the next game, but it’s just so tough,” Pegula said. “I know you don’t want to hear a cliche answer, but it’s just one game at a time and every day feels kind of different. It depends on who you’re playing, what the conditions are like and when you’re playing. There are so many variables from day to day.”
Everything went well against 18th seed Shnaider, a 20-year-old Russian who played one season of college tennis at NC State and Silver medal in women’s doubles at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Pegula hit 22 winners, six aces, saved 7 of 9 break points and won five of Shnaider’s service games.
“My movement has really improved, which has helped me a lot to stay in a lot of those points and sets and games and be super consistent,” Pegula said. “I’ve been serving pretty well. Even when it’s not working out, I’ve kind of gotten myself out of service games by serving smart or serving well in key moments like today when she was serving back really well.”
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